England's new code cracker: Tomkins set to follow Robinson and Ashton to union glory

When Joel Tomkins makes his second debut as an England rugby player on Saturday, he will seek to emulate the cross-code exploits of two fellow ex-Wigan stars who went on to illuminate Twickenham.

One of them, Jason Robinson, became a World Cup winner in union. The other, Chris Ashton, was once in the same class as Tomkins at school, is now a team-mate at Saracens and will line up alongside him for the opening QBE Test against Australia.

Both men, in their different ways, provided inspiration for the newcomer in England’s midfield to move south out of his comfort zone in search of this international opportunity.

Ready to go: Joel Tomkins is one of many who have switched Rugby League for union... and he makes his 'second' England debut on Saturday against Australia

Inspiration: Chris Ashton (left) and Jason Robinson (right) are two players who Tomkins looks up to

On Thursday, Tomkins was named at No 13 by head coach Stuart Lancaster in a new centre partnership with Billy Twelvetrees for the showdown with the Wallabies.

The 26-year-old is not the only new face for the Twickenham crowd to assess at close quarters. Billy Vunipola will make his maiden appearance at HQ — in the same team as his brother Mako — after a Test debut in Argentina five months ago, and London Irish wing Marland Yarde is another home debutant who also made a strong impression in South America.

Tomkins missed that trip owing to an ankle injury but gets his chance in the enforced absence of Manu Tuilagi. His first Test in union comes three years after he won his first cap for England in league. His conversion has been a seemingly textbook process of adapting the rugby education he received in Wigan, and now he can set about trying to match the trail-blazing impact of Robinson and Ashton.

Asked to whom he looked for inspiration, he said: ‘The obvious one is Jason Robinson. He was probably as good at both codes and one of the best players in the world at both codes. He’s been the biggest success. He was playing for Wigan when I was growing up and I followed his union career as well. What he did was unbelievable.’

Work out: Stuart Lancaster and his staff put the England players through their paces at training on Thursday

Then there is his old class-mate. Ashton’s switch to union and explosion on to the Test scene with a torrent of tries opened Tomkins’ eyes to the possibilities in the 15-man game. ‘Growing up in Wigan, you don’t really know that union is played, it’s just a rugby league town,’ he said.

‘All you really want to do is play for Wigan. When I started playing professionally, I started to follow union more after Chris moved over. It’s always something that I’ve been interested in. The international game is massive and you don’t really get that in rugby league. Chris moving to union gave me a bigger interest in it and I’ve followed it since then. That’s when I started thinking about the transition.’

Recalling the formative years he spent playing rugby with Ashton as fellow pupils at St John Fisher School, and with Wigan’s academy and eventually the first team, Tomkins added: ‘He has always been a bit of a joker, but as we’ve grown up he has become more of a joker and he probably plays up to his character as well. But he does have a serious side and he is one of the most dedicated people I know. Rugby means everything to him and he works really hard off the field.

‘We were in the same form so we went through school and through college together. We played for Wigan academy together and both made our debuts in the same season for the first team at Wigan. We were really close as teenagers then Chris moved on to Northampton. But we stayed close and I went visiting him. It is nice to play together again.’

Background: Ashton (above) and Tomkins were classmates back in their youth

When it came to his own transition, Tomkins repeatedly cites the lure of union’s greater global reach and the prospect of playing in a World Cup. His suitability for the move was enhanced by a positional change from second row to centre at Wigan after the 2010 season, ensuring that the No 13 role in union was not alien to him when he joined Saracens. But rucks were truly alien and that is the aspect of the new code that took him most time to grow accustomed to.

Tomkins suggests that pre-season last year was when the penny dropped; when he became a union player, rather than a league man playing union. That was when it began to feel instinctive. Yet, what he had long possessed was a big-match temperament and an ability to raise his game for the biggest occasion, as showcased when he scored a classic Challenge Cup final try for Wigan just before his move south.

He said: ‘I’ve played in a couple of finals for Wigan and played international rugby league. I think I can draw on those experiences.

‘Saturday is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, crowd I’ve ever played in front of, but I see it as exciting. This is the reason I came over to rugby union. I want to play in these games.’

Settling in: Tomkins engages in a bit of play-fighting with captain Chris Robshaw

The opposition for his Test debut couldn’t be more fitting in terms of providing additional motivation. England have endured a perennial struggle to live with Australia’s Kangaroos in the sport Tomkins left behind, so he hopes to inflict some payback on the Wallabies.

‘In rugby league, Australia are the best team and have been for years,’ he said. ‘It is nice to get the chance to compare the two, having played against Australia in rugby league. I think in league the gap is getting smaller but you can see from last weekend it is still there. This weekend, I’d love it if we could go out, put in a really good performance and get the win.’